This verse was revealed, "Maintain the prayers and the Asr prayer", and we recited it as long as Allah willed. Then Allah abrogated it, and the verse was revealed, "Maintain the prayers and the middle prayer" [Baqarah 2:238].A man who was sitting beside Shaqiq said, "Then it must be the Asr prayer."Bara replied, "I have already told you how it was revealed and how Allah abrogated it, and Allah knows best."
نزلت هذه الآية {حافظوا على الصلوات وصلاة العصر} فقرأناها ما شاء الله، ثم نسخها الله فنزلت: {حفظوا على الصلوات والصلوة الوسطى} فقال رجل: كان جالسا عند شقيق له: هي إذن صلاة العصر، فقال البراء: قد أخبرتك كيف نزلت، وكيف نسخها الله، والله أعلم.
Muslim narrated it in the Book of Mosques (630), from Ishaq bin Ibrahim Hanzali, who said, Yahya bin Adam informed us, Fudayl bin Marzuk narrated to us, from Shaqiq bin Uqbah, from Bara bin Azib, and he related the hadith.Muslim said, Ashjai also narrated it, from Sufyan Thawri, from Aswad bin Qays, from Shaqiq bin Uqbah, from Bara bin Azib, who said, "We used to recite it with the Prophet ﷺ for a time," similar to the hadith of Fudayl bin Marzuk. He meant "and the Asr prayer" [Baqarah 2:238], which was recited as part of the Quran for a time, then Allah the Exalted abrogated it and revealed, "Maintain the prayers and the middle prayer" [Baqarah 2:238].This is supported by the statement of Ayesha and Hafsa, for they both heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reciting it, without knowing that it had been abrogated.